


To Fly

by routa



Series: Yurileth Week 2020 by routa [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Character Study, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Gender-Neutral My Unit | Byleth, Other, Post-Canon, Yurileth Week (Fire Emblem)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24257386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/routa/pseuds/routa
Summary: There is a lot of work to be done after the war. Yuri isn't going to say no to tackling the challenge, but he also isn't opposed to the idea of flying free with his beloved.Written for Yurileth Week, for the prompts Free/Break. Byleth's gender is up to interpretation.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Yurileth Week 2020 by routa [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753765
Kudos: 22





	To Fly

**Author's Note:**

> Three Houses, if you cram that many bird metaphors into all things Yuri, then you can bet that I'm going to write a panicked, short-notice fic with an annoying amount of bird imagery!
> 
> WARNING: I wasn't sure whether this warrants a tag, but I'll put a warning here because there's like a sentence that vaguely alludes to Yuri's past as either a sex worker or someone who has been in the beds of people for other reasons (it's vague enough that it could be either of those). That sentence also mentions choking. Just a heads-up.

Yuri Leclerc was a bird of many talents, and he could take pride in a lot of them. He was charming and could chirp the right words in the ears of right people. He could make the rich and nobles alike dance to his tune in order to help those in need. He could defend his people with speed and sharpness that hadn’t failed him yet. And he could keep his makeup intact through even the fiercest of battles – which was _probably_ the most difficult task out of all the above.

They were all skills he had picked up during his life in order to get where he was. He had been a sick little bird in the beginning, struggling in a nest full of love but lacking in enough material possessions for an easy life. He had managed to bounce back from sickness thanks to a helpful stranger, and from there he had decided to soar and pull others up along with him. It had been a rough road, but it had definitely been an educational one as well.

The most recent skill he had acquired was the ability to read his spouse, Byleth Eisner, who was notoriously difficult to figure out. He had learned to interpret the tiny twitches of facial muscles, the small changes in the tone of voice, and the glowing, brilliant eyes in order to always have at least an idea of what Byleth was thinking at all times. Yuri was especially proud of this skill, mostly because it was the first time he had learned to read a person out of actual love rather than necessity. And yet, when Byleth practically barged into Yuri’s office and asked him to take a break, he was not sure what to make of it.

Sure, they could both use a little rest. They had just gone through a war, and the continent of Fódlan was floundering. Byleth was expected to be one of the people who would fix it, simply because they happened to be the only one in power with enough emotional stability to keep things together. The workload was staggering, to say the least, so Yuri was definitely not complaining when Byleth decided to take a moment for a little self-care. But he was curious about where they were going with this. Byleth didn’t usually do things aimlessly or without some kind of reason. And now they had just led Yuri outside, first to a stroll through the town of Garreg Mach, and then outside of the town, where Yuri and Byleth had chased each other like mildly drunk youths until they both laughed and their legs hurt. It was stupid. It was a waste of time. It was wonderful.

When they finally stopped, it was to a lightly forested area that didn’t seem to be anything special, but rather just peaceful. The trees and grass were green with spring. A couple of birds sang in the trees. Somehow, Yuri felt at home despite having lived most of his adult life underground. Maybe it was the birds, though unlike Yuri, these birds seemed to like singing.

He had been a songbird once, and he had absolutely despised that time. It had been a time wasted with nobles and their greedy eyes. And sometimes a time when he had been afraid he’d never make it out of a bedroom as cold hands wrapped around his neck. He shuddered at the memory.

“This is pretty far from the monastery,” he remarked to get his mind back into the lovely, safe and not traumatising present, “Didn’t think you needed this much space when you said you wanted to get out.”

Yuri couldn’t see Byleth’s expression, but he could deduce they were wearing a smile just by the way their shoulders relaxed even further.

“I don’t think I do,” Byleth replied, and Yuri could tell they were staring at the landscape with quiet wonder, “Or… maybe I do? I just wanted to be somewhere with just you. We’ve been busy. We’ve hardly seen each other lately.”

Byleth still talked in rather clipped sentences, even though they were far less quiet than they had been in the beginning. It was just one of the many adorable things about them. As was the way they could still look at ordinary things with such awe. Though that one was a little sad at the same time, because it reminded Yuri of just how little Byleth had known life outside of battle.

Not that Yuri had had much time to appreciate the simpler things in life either. As high as he had managed to climb in the pecking order of the underworld, he hadn’t been able to just do whatever he wanted. He had always been caged by duty, or then bound to Abyss for crimes he had committed. Bound to the will of someone he’d rather not follow, but had had to in order to save his people. Now he decided to embrace the tiny shard of freedom, and the warm feeling that filled his chest when Byleth said they wanted a moment with just him.

The forest they had stopped in was on a hill that overlooked vast, windy fields. They could see the town and the monastery of Garreg Mach – now slowly being rebuilt after the war – as a small, ancient centrepiece of a landscape many had immortalised in paintings over the years. Byleth’s hand found Yuri’s, and for a moment they just stood, breathed in fresh air and birdsong and wondered just how they had got there.

“So, what now?” Yuri asked, “Not that I mind just staying here, but did you have anything specific in mind?”

Byleth shifted their weight from foot to foot, suddenly adorably uncertain.

“I wanted to talk to you,” they said, “I got to thinking… about life. About what you want to do with it.”

They sighed.

“We’ve promised to help rebuild, to fix things here in Fódlan the best we can. But what about after?”

Yuri smiled and squeezed Byleth’s hand.

“It’s a bit too early to think about after,” he said, “We’ve still got a lot of work left before we’re done.”

“I know,” Byleth said, “But…”

They didn’t seem to know what to say. Yuri stepped in front of his spouse and moved his free hand to rest at the back of their neck.

“I don’t think this is the right kind of talk for a break, yeah? We should be… I don’t know, just forgetting everything that might worry us.”

“Do you think we can do that?” Byleth asked, a ghost of a smile on their lips. Yuri laughed.

“Eh, we can give it our best shot.”

Yuri gently let go of Byleth’s hand so he could wrap both arms around Byleth’s neck. He pressed their foreheads together and said:

“How about… we don’t do anything? Just stay here?”

Byleth replied by putting their arms around Yuri’s waist and quickly pecking him on the lips.

“I’d like that,” they said, even though their heart wasn’t fully in it. Yuri could tell.

Still, they ended up lying under the shade of a tree, arms around each other and grass under them. Yuri watched birds that were flitting about, chasing each other and then disappearing into the sky. He could sense that Byleth was still restless, still thinking too much. Yuri hugged Byleth tighter, rested his head on their shoulder and, despite his reluctance to worry at this moment, found himself thinking.

For a long time, Yuri had been a mockingbird. A savage one that sang for profit and spun lies to spread small but sharp claws across all of Western Fódlan. It had been harsh but necessary, and Yuri would be lying if he’d said he wasn’t happy with what he had accomplished. But sometimes… he knew that the claws also held him fast in that world. Even though he was no longer bound to Abyss, he was still bound to crime and to his dreams. Dreams that were perhaps too big, and sometimes they weighed him down even as he put on a brave face and laughed until everything felt lighter. But as much as he sometimes wanted to just fly free, he knew he was too stubborn and soft to just abandon everything. Or everyone.

And so was Byleth. And that was one of the things Yuri loved about them.

And yet... here, in the shade of a tree, in the arms of the person he actually _loved_ , Yuri felt a kind of happiness he had rarely felt. Suddenly he almost envied the birds who had flown away without a second thought. Maybe it was a feeling that had long hidden somewhere at the back of his mind even as he learned to lie and charm in order to help others. It had hidden because it was selfish, but maybe one day he could afford a little selfishness, if only for some time.

“You know,” Yuri said slowly, “I’m ready to take as long as we need to making sure people will have a better future.”

Byleth shifted slightly, looked at Yuri with some amusement.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about that?”

“Yeah, but I know it’s bothering you.”

Byleth hummed in agreement. Yuri smiled.

“We both know we won’t leave until things have calmed down,” he said, “And who knows, we’ll probably return to help people even after that.”

“Yes.”

“But… I do want to sometimes just… not be all of this. Sometimes I want to be just me, you know?”

“Yes,” Byleth said, “Though I have to admit that I don’t really know how to be just me.”

“Oh, you’re doing fine,” Yuri said, “Well, okay, maybe you _could_ use a bit more practise, but I’d say you’re not _terrible_ at it.”

Byleth laughed softly, a sound that made Yuri’s heart flutter. He turned so that he could look at Byleth in their shining eyes.

“Hey, how about this? First we fix this whole damn continent – no matter how long that takes – and then we spread our wings and just… fly wherever we want.”

“That first task could take a lifetime,” Byleth said.

“Not your lifetime, I bet,” Yuri said, “I think being a Goddess comes with certain perks in the life expectancy department.”

“I suppose…”

“And I promise I’ll be there for you, for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Forever, then,” Byleth said immediately, “And I won’t fly anywhere without you.”

Yuri laughed again and raised his head from Byleth's shoulder to give them a gentle kiss.

“It’s a deal, then,” he whispered against Byleth’s lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Ggggaaah I cannot write a fic by checking the prompt in the morning before work and then try to vomit this out in a few hours in the evening... but I promised myself today that I'd post another one for Yurileth week. Whyyyyyy do I do this to myself?
> 
> ...I kinda want to do tomorrow's prompt too? Or prompts, if I can combine them. These ones that I've done have been easy to put together, so I've figured why not? But let's see if I can get stuff out tomorrow. And if it's any better than this... probably not. :/
> 
> Uh... I hope this wasn't TOO terrible :D. Have a lovely day everyone!


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